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Breaking It Gently: Patreon Is Adding A New Feature That Lets You Quietly Inform Someone You Were Only Supporting Their Art To Be Nice

Well, this is exciting news for anyone who supports the arts! Patreon, a crowdsourcing platform for creatives, just gave itself a major upgrade: The company just unveiled a new feature that allows you to quietly inform someone that you were only supporting their art to be nice!

What a tactful, gentle way to support emerging artists that you pity!

For anyone interested in using the new Patreon feature, all you have to do is check a box below your donation, click submit, and artists will receive a notification that your financial support was just a matter of you wanting to help a buddy out, not any particular interest in their podcast or webcomic. According to beta testers, the feature is perfect for anyone who wants to support the artistic endeavors of a coworker or former classmate, but also wants to be clear that their donation was out of social obligation, rather than about their art.

“We wanted a simple, efficient way for backers to convey that they’re happy to help their friends follow their dreams but don’t necessarily need updates or behind-the-scenes extras,” explained Patreon CEO Jack Conte in a recent interview. “This new feature is a great way to offer small but reliable income to struggling artists without putting yourself on the hook for giving feedback or attending real-world performances. This should make Patreon a smoother user experience for everyone.”

Wow, good on Patreon for supporting emerging artists without implying they should actually do this for a living. We can’t wait to halfheartedly throw a few bucks to someone with this cool new feature!